News Nosh 2.19.20

"Anyone who doesn't see importance in this meeting, just three weeks after the release of the Trump
plan, is wrong...In my opinion, it is always preferable and even recommended to walk around in our region with
open eyes."
--Maariv's new diplomatic affairs correspondent, Anna Barsky, writes about her
trip to the West Bank at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority.*

Elections
2020 / Netanyahu Indictment News:
The announcement of the opening of Netanyahu’s trial on March 17th made large bold
headlines on the front pages of the main Hebrew newspapers, with the exception of ‘Israel Hayom,’ which gave a
tiny headline and used an abbreviation, ‘PM,’ to refer to the Prime Minister, making it even smaller. The
charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust will be read aloud in court. The trial will begin two weeks
after Israeli elections and will last months or years and Maariv reported that senior Likud officials were worried that
“photos from the court will severely damage Likud after elections.” The sources in the ruling party claimed
that because of the announcement of the hearing, “the little chance that still existed for a unity government
with Kahol-Lavan - completely dropped from the agenda.” Shortly after the trial announcement, Netanyahu challenged his chief rival, Kahol-Lavan
leader Benny Gantz, to a television debate. Gantz dismissed the invitation as an attempt to distract the public from the
corruption trial announcement.

Elections
2020 / Netanyahu Indictment Quickees:Threat to Ethiopian soccer league players: "You will be punished if you do not come to the event with
Netanyahu" -In anticipation of an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Ethiopian-Israeli minor
league with the participation of the Prime Minister, the players were warned: "Anyone who does not register and
does not attend the ceremony will end playing this season." Likud: "We have nothing to do with messages given by
the association.” (Yedioth Hebrew and Haaretz+)(Ethiopian-Israeli) Teacher to face disciplinary hearing after lobbing apple at PM, comparing him to
Hitler - Education minister demands the woman, who regularly attends protests against police brutality and
racial profiling, be called in for clarifications. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)Voting begins in Israeli embassies as March 2 election nears - Some 5,200 state employees abroad
are eligible to take part in voting that wraps up Thursday in California. (i24News)Want Your Money? Tell Us Who You’ll Be Voting for in Israel's Next Election - Some ATMs asking
users to take opinion poll when they withdraw money. Operator: It’s legal, more polls to come. (Haaretz+) Likud’s version of Big Brother: Its controversial app for Israeli voters - One party
activist said he deleted the app – and two minutes later, received a text message imploring him to re-install it.
Another user was a 13-year-old boy, who is too young to vote. (Haaretz+)Yisrael Beiteinu party claims: Cyber attack against us - Avigdor Lieberman's party has filed a
complaint with the police, claiming that a campaign of distributing defaming content has been launched
against the party on a website for the Russian-speaking public from a server in Russia. The party suspects there is
an outside source is behind the campaign, and has filed a personal complaint against the site operator, which
claims "this was a spontaneous act.” (Yedioth Hebrew)

Quick Hits:

***Israel advancing thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem - Peace Now slams plan to build 9,000
homes in the Atarot area, between Kafr 'Aqab, Qalandiya and Al-Ram, as one that will "drive a wedge in the
heart of the Palestinian urban sprawl and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state." If approved, this
will be the first new neighborhood in east Jerusalem since Har Homa in 1997. (Israel Hayom)

Israel planning Jewish neighborhood on land Trump slated for Palestinians - Fifteen
Palestinian families currently live in area near East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab. (Haaretz+)

Jordan slams Israel's plans to extend train line to Western Wall - Jordan's Foreign
Minister called the move a "flagrant violation of international law," urges international community to "assume
its responsibilities to resist the illegitimate and illegal Israeli steps." (Israel Hayom)

Delaying Leifer's Possible Extradition, Court Allows New Professional Opinions in Sexual Abuse
Case - Hearings on psychological evaluation expected to take place in February or March, further
delaying a possible decision on handing over Malka Leifer to Australia for trial. (Haaretz+ and Ynet)

In the shadow of fear of protests against Israel [over delay of extradition of Malka Leifer]: President
Rivlin took off for Australia - In Israel, concern of protests against the president [because Israel
has delayed extradition of ultra-Orthodox Jewish Australian, Malka Leifer, who is suspected of pedophilia at
Jewish girls school where she was principal and then since escaped to Israel - OH]. Veterans in the Australian
Jewish community have described the affair as most serious crisis in relations between Jewish community and
Israel since the Maccabia Bridge disaster, when four members of the Australian delegation were killed.
(Yedioth Hebrew)

'President Trump has been the best friend Israel can ever have' - US Congressmen Jim Jordan
(R-OH) and Mike Johnson (R-LA) tour Judea and Samaria and praise the 45th president for his pro-Israel stance
and the recently unveiled peace plan. (Israel Hayom)

After making a ”provocation": Yehuda Glick was arrested on the Temple Mount (after escorting US
Congressmen) - Yehuda Glick, a longtime activist for greater Jewish visitation rights to the Jerusalem
site, had escorted two U.S. congressmen to the area, whom Glick identified as Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Jim
Jordan (R-OH), but then he returned without permission, police argue. The former Knesset Member was taken for
investigation for suspected misconduct and disturbing to police officer after failing to comply with police
instructions at the holy site in Jerusalem. (Haaretz+VIDEO, Maariv, JPost and Times of Israel and VIDEO)

Senior Hamas, Russian officials meet in Qatar - Meeting included former Hamas chief Khaled
Mashaal and Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and was said to focus on the Palestinians' objection to
the US peace plan. (Israel Hayom)

Defense minister: Israel seeing signs Iran is rethinking its strategy in Syria - Defense
Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that Israel detected signs that Iran is considering decreasing its
presence in Syria, giving the Jewish state an opportunity to go from the defensive to the offensive.
(Israel Hayom)

'All Israeli positions within range of Iranian fire,' general warns - "We give a warning to
Israelis to care about their acts of mischief. They are far smaller than the Americans, much smaller and much
more impotent by our calculations," Revolutionary Guards chief Gen. Hossein Salami warned in an interview with
the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen TV, saying a strike against Israel may not necessarily come from Iran
soil. (Israel Hayom)

IDF to launch new Iran-focused directorate - New military branch is part of five-year plan for
strengthening IDF's operational capabilities; plan envisions armed forces as more integrated and relying on
advanced technological tools. (Ynet)

Israeli Army Mulls Revising Draft Exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Men - A committee named by IDF
Chief Aviv Kochavi to examine distorted statistics published last year about the draft is due to submit their
report to the defense minister on Tuesday. (Haaretz+)

Israeli Court Orders Facebook to Unblock Account of NSO Group Employee - Group of Israeli
cyber intelligence firm's employees has filed suit after social media giant blocked their private accounts when
it filed its own lawsuit. (Haaretz)

Former Prime Minister Olmert Asks Rivlin to Expunge His Criminal Record - Lawyers for Ehud
Olmert, who served jail time on corruption charges, based request on his contributions to the state, while
Olmert has expressed interest in returning to public life. (Haaretz+ and Maariv)

Turkey Issues Fresh Detention Request After Surprise Acquittal in Protest Trial - Prosecutors
on Tuesday demanded the re-arrest of Turkish businessman Osman Kavala in connection with the failed 2016 coup,
hours after he was acquitted over his alleged role in the Gezi Park protests of 2013, a document seen by
Reuters showed. The surprise ruling was met with applause in the courtroom. (Agencids, Haaretz+)

Iran sentences eight alleged U.S. spies to up to 10 years in prison - Penalty matches series
of previous espionage sentences in the country. (Agencies, Haaretz)

Report: Iran threatens to raze ancient Jewish site in favor of Palestinian consulate -
Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in Iran claims formidable Basij paramilitary force attempted to raid the
historic site in what it called "an act of revenge against the Israelis Palestinian peace plan by President
Trump." (Israel Hayom)

Features:

With China 'closed,' Palestinian traders fear losing a good deal
"The economies of the whole Arab world are not productive and depend on imported goods, Chinese goods," Hebron
trades says. If the coronavirus continues to harm trade the effects will be felt across the region, he says. (AP,
Israel Hayom)

Elections
2020/Netanyahu Indictment Commentary/Analysis:Only Israel’s Arabs Can Unite Israel’s Jews (Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz+) Without Israel’s Arabs the Jewish state has no shared national
identity. Take Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party, which changes its position every week on the Joint List of
Arab parties. Kahol Lavan is supposedly the party that draws the line between rational Zionism and fanatical
messianism, between clean politics and muck and corruption, between a chance for peace and a continuation of
the occupation. But this party doesn’t know its own mind when it comes to “the peace process” with Israel’s
Arabs: To ask for the Joint List’s support and appear stained by treason, or keep its distance from Arab
Israelis as if they were infected with the coronavirus. In a poll published Monday by Channel 13, a question
was asked that under normal circumstances would make you gag: Would a government supported by the Arabs be
considered legitimate? Forty-four percent said it would, 33 percent said it wouldn’t…We can imagine the hue
and cry if such a question were asked in the United States about African Americans, in France about people
from North Africa or in Britain about the Jews. But in Israel the question is considered legitimate because
it’s perceived as a political question, not one of values. It was born out of the unbridled, detestable
campaign of anti-Arab incitement led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his gang against Kahol Lavan,
which is now known as “Gantz.” But the very idea of removing the Arabs from Israel’s political fabric stems
from a worldview and is a direct extension of the racist legislation that not only shapes Israel’s image as a
Jewish state but also reflects the views that have become entrenched in society here in recent decades.Moral decision (Ben Dror Yemini, Yedioth Hebrew) In the entire right-wing bloc, there is not a single person who
questions the legitimacy of Netanyahu's continued term. It was clear that the investigations would lead to a
police recommendation (for indictment). And the recommendation came. It was clear that the leaks from the
prosecutor's office would lead to an indictment. And it came. It was clear that at some point the trial would
begin. And it came, too. There is a date. On March 17, for the first time in Israel, there will be a man in
Israel who must both manage and defend a state, and also defend himself against a country that accuses him…But
there must also be a moral and public decision alongside the legal decision. The problem, we should admit, is
not Netanyahu. The problem is the flock of sheep gathered around him. It's not that they're silent, it's not
that they're ashamed. On the contrary, they are competing between them who will be more loyal, who will
denigrate the Attorney General more. True, Netanyahu can continue (to serve), but what about a moral stance?
Many Knesset members of the right-wing bloc know that it is "kosher but smells.” And not just to the right,
there are also justified allegations against law enforcement agencies - this is not a conspiracy, nor is it a
Deep State. And how the hell is there, within the 55-seat bloc, not one name, just one, capable of making a
moral statement? Binyamin Netanyahu would have done us all a kindness had he stepped aside and allowed a
replacement from his party take the helm, but that did not happen. It is only left to the same right-hand man
to stand up and say: That’s enough. This will not happen before the election. Hopefully it will happen after
the elections.Why Netanyahu’s post-election court date might mean a quicker ouster (Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz+) President Rivlin could find himself deciding whether to task someone
with forming a coalition days before being due in court – and that's just one problem.Winds of change worth remembering at the polls (Ruthie Blum, Israel Hayom) Evidence of thawing anti-Israel enmity among Middle East states
wishing to ally themselves with Washington against the ayatollah-led regime in Tehran should be cause for
great celebration in the so-called "peace camp."The support of the Joint List in the next government will create an interesting new momentum
(Ephraim Ganor, Maariv) According to the current reality, only if the Arab sector provides the
Joint Arab List with 16 seats could a turnaround occur here at the end of the third round of elections.Netanyahu's economic plan looks like it came from outer space (David Rosenberg, Haaretz+) The Likud's finance minister-designate Nir Barkat may be an Earthling
but he served up a package of reforms that have no bearing on economic reality.Call a spade a spade (Dan Schueftan, Israel Hayom) Any attempt to delve into the culture of politics is either
reduced to a pathetic circus of insults recruited for political demagoguery or attacked by self-righteous
champions of political correctness. It's time to hold a real conversation.'Bernie or Bust': Yes, Electing Sanders Is More Important Than Just Defeating Trump (Jacob
Bacharach, Haaretz+) Sanders should capitalize on the fervor of his base, including many
young Jewish voters, to win the Democratic nomination, and block an authoritarian racist like Bloomberg.
That’s not blackmail, it’s principled, hardball politics.

Top Commentary/Analysis:We Were Right to Hang Billboards Showing Abbas and Haniyeh as Defeated Terrorists (Nave Dromi,
Haaretz+) By “we,” I mean the Israel Victory Project, a project of the Middle
East Forum-Israel, which I head. This organization holds that over the past few decades, Israeli society and
its main decision makers have been inculcated with a worldview that believes more in containment and restraint
and less in victory. This is the result of an incessant drumbeat of slogans like “land for peace,” which are
based on Israeli concessions as a condition for peace with the Palestinians. We seek to offer the public a
different kind of thinking – a paradigm change from Israeli concessions to Israeli demands: namely, acceptance
of the Zionist idea and the Jewish state…The point of the billboards was to spark public discussion about the
crying need to change the thinking that characterizes the “peace camp,” which has come to dominate Israeli
thinking.*The important good news from the Palestinian Authority: "Security coordination will continue after the deal of
the century" (Anna Barsky, Maariv) It's important to look at reality: we went on a trip to the Palestinian
Authority on Tuesday. It was not exactly a "fun day trip for (Israeli) political reporters," as some of our
colleagues in the media chose to define it. It’s easy to criticize and wonder - "Why did you go all the way to
Ramallah, and not come back with headlines?" colleagues stung. "Why did you go to Ramallah to serve the
interests of the Palestinian Authority and serve as a mouthpiece for it?" they criticized in the right-wing.
“You ended up ‘parve’ (neither here nor there) - both you and the Palestinians," wrote one Twitter member of
the Peace Camp who was not satisfied with the outcome of the visit. I have to admit: you're all right. No
bombastic headlines came out of the visit. During the tour, everything was "for quoting” and we brought the
words of the other side - if not for the diplomatic process, then at least for dialogue with the diplomatic
reporters. Anyone who doesn't see importance in this meeting, just three weeks after the release of the Trump
plan, is wrong. If we intend to ignore and not be interested in what is going on just a few miles away from
home - you can certainly not drive to Ramallah and not hear anyone who is there. In my opinion, it is always
preferable and even recommended to walk around in our region with open eyes. Just for that, we arrived there
in a tense atmosphere full of pessimism and concerns. The Palestinian Authority is the same authority and the
positions of its people have not changed. They still claim that they are ready to enter into negotiations
based on the 1967 borders and with the Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. They decided to compliment
former prime minister Ehud Olmert and ignore the incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. They try not to
address the issue of Israeli elections so that Netanyahu will not take advantage of this in his campaign.
However, an important statement was made there when Abu Mazen's spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeineh said at the
meeting: "Security coordination will continue even after the Trump plan is released, because we are serious
people and not a foaming-at-the-mouth gang looking for action." There were also statements that were said
casually, for which just to hear them it was definitely worth coming. In summary: It was important to get a
sense of the ground and look reality into the eyes, even if it is a partial image.The moral bankruptcy of a PLO state (Rachel Avraham, Israel Hayom) The fact that the Palestinians revere terrorists as role models
for young children makes the idea of promoting a PLO state morally reprehensible.We at Hebrew University Are ‘Collaborators’? (Barak Medina, Haaretz+) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is a bastion of liberalism that is
not afraid of organizations such as Im Tirtzu, and therefore has decided not to exercise force against
it.Turkey and Russia Clash Over Syria, and Idlib's Residents Are Paying the Price (Zvi Bar'el,
Haaretz+) Turkey doesn’t have many ways out of the corner it has backed itself
into, as it tries to please Russia while preventing the Assad regime from capturing Syria's northern
province.

Interviews:"I feel like getting a tattoo on my arm that says, ‘I am the best I can be.’”
After she abandoned the Israeli microphone and screen in order to marry (Arab-Israeli) actor Yusuf Sweid, 43,
in Berlin, Adi Shilon, 32, now spends her time in Berlin caring for four-month-old Michelle. The last thing
that interests her is how her body looks or how available she is on text message for work (“I respond only
after two weeks”). But the voices of fear in her head finally became silent: “I cam to the world only to do it
good.” (Interviewed by Smadar Shir in Yedioth Hebrew’s ‘Zmanim Plus’ supplement, cover)Interviewer: What is the biggest change that has happened inside of you?AS: “I no longer care what they say about me and Yusuf. In the past I tried to explain that
there is nothing negative about us, that I am not afraid of assimilation, but of hatred and racism. And that
saga is over. We are a love story from which a marvelous creature came to the world and that’s it.
Period.”

"For years, I feel like I have no home"
Esther Ofarim was considered the greatest star that came out of Israel. Her songs conquered the summits of the
European hit lists, including #1 in England. Following that success, she moved to Germany, leaving behind
inalienable assets, such as “Hayu Lailot” and “Song of Army Camaraderie.” Now, at age 79, Ofarim returns for
one performance in Israel on April 16th and admits that she no longer has any idea where she really belongs. “I
feel like Israel is still in side me, but I am not really from here and not really from there.” Her songs,
“Hayu Lailot" (There were nights), “Zionizioni Haderech,’ ‘Yatzanu et,’ and ‘Laila, laila,’ were etched into
the pantheon of Israeli music and became inalienable assets and part of our musical cultural legacy. But it’s
not certain that’s what Ofarim wishes for herself. (Interviewed by Lilit Wagner in Yedioth Hebrew’s ’24 Hours’ supplement, pp. 6-7)
Ofarim: “Me? Legacy? I have no desire or need like that. It’s not my role to educate and I am not a
teacher…I never waved flags. It’s not my thing, and truth be told, this desire to be an inalienable
asset seems to be pretty pathetic. ‘Hayu Lailot’ is a beautiful song and it is part of Israeli
culture. It tells the beginning of the path of Israel, and thus, I think, historically it is important, because
it is not only important to know who the Hasmoneans were. It’s important to know who was Mordechai Zaira. He
wrote the song.”Interviewer: With all the music that is popular today among Generation Y and Z, do you think
that one day they will no longer know ‘Hayu Lailot’ and ‘Laila v’laila’?EO: “That’s their problem!..I don’t want to perform ‘Song of Army Camaraderie’ in
Israel. Even though army camaraderie is a good thing in and of itself, and love your neighbor as
yourself - that’s my motto in life.”
But she is careful not to slide from here into into a discussion about Israeliness and militancy. “I don’t want
to go there.”

General-turned-MK calls for direct talks with Hamas
"It’s a stupid lie that we ignore them because they are terrorists. They are terrorists, but it’s better to
talk to them rather than fight them," former deputy IDF chief Major General Yair Golan asserts. He added that
he would be in favor of "clandestine discussions" between the US and Iran.
With talks on a possible annexation of settlements in the West Bank amid Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace
plan, Golan emphasized his emphatic objection to such a move, calling it a ‘huge mistake.’ (Interviewed on by
David Matlin on i24NEWS video and reported on in Israel Hayom)

MK Yair Golan: “Vote: annexation or disengagement"
Former deputy chief of staff, now a member of the Labor-Meretz-Gesher party, spoke with 103FM radio about the army
and politics and said that they are separate. But he addressed the order that then-commander of the Givati Brigade,
Ofer Winter, gave during Operation Protective Edge, when Winter told soldiers that they are ‘Going out to battle
the wars of G-d.” “(I opposed it) because it immediately put the Druze, Bedouin and secular Jewish soldiers in an
unpleasant, uncomfortable position, subjecting them to a language they do not speak or understand,” said Golan. “I
also told him at the time that I think this was a grave error.” When asked if army people were surprised when he
came out with his left-wing views, he said: “(Then-chief of staff, Gadi) Eisenkott thought I was a right-winger.”
On elections he said: “Vote: annexation or disengagement.” (103FM/Maariv)

Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.